Dancing Ballet Gestures on Animals of Korea Hyoin Jun, Gluck Fellow in Dance About Korea Korea is located far east of Asia and has a very long history. Korean people believe that Korea was established in BC 2333, October 3rd by King Dan Goon. The name Korea came from the name Goryeo. Goryeo was the name of an era when Korea first started trading goods with other countries. People from the other countries could not pronounce Goryeo, so they started to call it Korea. After the 2nd World War, Korea got divided by Russia and United States. Korea is still divided as North Korea and South Korea. South Korea’s flag represents the harmony of Yin Yang. Yin Yang represents the basic things that form this universe, such as sky and land, female and male, water and fire, sun and ocean. Korean is the national language of Korea, which was made by King Sejong in 1446. Therefore Korea uses own letters and own language. Also, Korea considers being polite very importantly. So when Korean people say “hi” or “thank you”, we fold our upper body forward to express the politeness. Hello = 안녕하세요 (Ahn nyoung ha se yo) Thank you = 감사합니다 (Gam sa ham nee dah) Animals of Korea 1) Finless Porpoise “The Indo-Pacific finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides), or finless porpoise, is one of seven porpoisespecies. Most of the population has been found around the Korean peninsula in the Yellow and East China Seas, although a freshwater population is found around Jiuduansha near Shanghai at the mouth of China's Yangtze River. The Korean communities of the porpoise are sometimes known as sanggwaengi (Korean: 상괭이)” “The finless porpoise is the only porpoise to lack a true dorsal fin. Instead there is a low ridge covered in thick skin bearing several lines of tiny tubercles. In addition, the forehead is unusually steep compared with those of other porpoises. With fifteen to twenty-one teeth in each jaw, they also have, on average, fewer teeth than other porpoises, although there is some overlap, and this is a not a reliable means of distinguishing them.” “Finless porpoises can grow to as much as 2.27 m (7 ft 5 in) in length, and can weigh up to 72 kg (159 lb), although most are rather smaller. The flippers are moderately large, reaching up to 20% of the total body length. Adults are typically a uniform, light grey colour, although some may have lighter patches of skin around the mouth, or darker patches in front of the flippers. Newborn calves of the central and eastern subspecies are mostly black with grey around the dorsal ridge area, becoming fully grey after four to six months. However, newborn calves of the western subspecies are a light creamy grey, and become darker as they age.” “Adults grow more than 1.55 m (5 ft) in length and up to 30–45 kg (65–100 lb) in weight.” (Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finless_porpoise) (Search key words: finless porpoise, Korean name: 상괭이(sanggwaengi)) 2) Water Deer “Water deer are indigenous to the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, coastal Jiangsu province (Yancheng Coastal Wetlands), and islands of Zhejiang of east-central China, and in Korea, where the demilitarized zone has provided a protected habitat for a large number. In China, water deer are found in Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Hubei, Henan, Anhui, Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Shanghai, and Guangxi. They are now extinct in the southern and western China. In Korea, water deer are found nationwide.” “Water deer inhabit the land alongside rivers, where they are protected from sight by the tall reeds and rushes. They are also seen on mountains, swamps, grasslands, and even open cultivated fields. Water deer are proficient swimmers, and can swim several miles to reach remote river islands. Chinese Water Deer are now located in United Kingdom, France and Argentina, and even some in the United States.” “The water deer have developed long canine teeth which protrude from the upper jaw like the canines of musk deer. The canines are fairly large in the bucks, ranging in length from 5.5 cm / 2.1 in. on average to as long as 8 cm / 3.2 in. Does, in comparison, have tiny canines that are on an average of 0.5 cm / 0.2 in. in length.” “The teeth usually erupt in the autumn of the deer’s first year at approximately 6–7 months of age. By early spring the recently erupted tusks reach approximately 50% of their final length. As the tusks develop, the root remains open until the deer is about eighteen months to two years old. When fully grown, only about 60% of the tusk is visible below the gum.” “These canines are held loosely in their sockets, with their movement controlled by facial muscles. The buck can draw them backwards out of the way when eating. In aggressive encounters, he thrusts his canines out and draws in his lower lip to pull his teeth closer together. He then presents an impressive two-pronged weapon to rival males. It is due to these teeth that this animal is often referred to as a "vampire deer.”” (Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_deer) (Search key words: water deer, Korean name: 고라니 (Go Ra Ni)) 3) Asian Black Bear “The Asian black bear (Ursus thibetanus, previously known as Selenarctos thibetanus), also known as the moon bear, and white-chested bear, is a medium-sized bear species native to Asia and largely adapted to arboreal life. It lives in the Himalayas, in the northern parts of the Indian subcontinent, Korea, northeastern China, the Russian Far East, the Honshū and Shikoku islands of Japan, and Taiwan. It is classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), mostly because of deforestation and hunting for its body parts.” “The species is morphologically very similar to some prehistoric bears, and is thought by some scientists to be the ancestor of other extant bear species (aside from pandas and spectacled bears). Though largely herbivorous, Asian black bears can be very aggressive toward humans, who frequently trap or kill them for traditional medicine.” “Asian black bears are black and have a light brown muzzle. They are white on the chin, and have a distinct white patch on the chest, which sometimes has the shape of a V.[5] Their ears are bell shaped, proportionately longer than those of other bears, and stick out sideways from the head. The tail is 11 cm (4.3 in) long. Adults measure 70–100 cm (28–39 in) at the shoulder, and 120–190 cm (47–75 in) in length. Adult males weigh 60– 200 kg (130–440 lb) with an average weight of about 135 kg (298 lb). Adult females weigh 40–125 kg (88– 276 lb), and large ones up to 140 kg (310 lb).” (Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_black_bear) (Search key words: Asian Black Bear, Moon bear, Korean name: 반달가슴곰 (Ban Dal Ga Sum Gom)) Ballet Gestures of “Animals of Korea” Animal Characteristic Ballet Gestures Example Finless Porpoise Generous Circular Kind Gestures: Smooth Expresses the shape of finless porpoise Water Deer Jump Around Flexible and Swift High Jump: Light expresses the swiftness and jumping of water deer Asian Black Bear Strong Strong posture Scary with Palm Facing Heavy Front: expresses the power of Asian black bear .